


The Metal Detector

by TheBetterAngelsOfOurNature



Series: Patience of a Saint [2]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Friendship, It comes from following a dog halfway across the Commonwealth, Reunions, This is where friendship comes from
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-21 12:31:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9549101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBetterAngelsOfOurNature/pseuds/TheBetterAngelsOfOurNature
Summary: After meeting up with Detective Valentine, Eliza heads off to find her son and end the man who kidnapped him. Travelling with Dogmeat is something she can handle, but adjusting to Nick's particular brand of adventure might take some time.





	

The Wall of Diamond City was an impressive sight, even from the outside. We skirted around it like ants around a big green bottle cap.

“Diamond City security keeps the bad guys on this side of the Wall,” Nick explained as we trotted along. “But it's always a struggle.”

As if on cue, a Diamond City guard turned the corner. His mask covered his face, but when he spoke it sounded like he was smiling.

“Hey Nick, who's your friend?”

“New client.”

“Hey, welcome to Diamond City!” The guard reached out and actually shook my hand. My cheeks burned, but I managed to stammer out, “Thank you, I really appreciate that.”

A spray of bullets ricocheted off the brick wall. The guard turned, cursed, and bolted to a nearby alley. Nick and I followed. There were at least six supermutants attacking the guards. One, a big ugly green fellow with a piece of wood, sprinted over and slammed that wood into the guard's stomach.

I had always snuck past mutants before (with the obvious and glaring exception of Swan) but as the mutant hit that guard, anger overcame fear. I found myself running, no, _sprinting_ at it, firing wildly from my pistol. I caught it twice in the chest and it fell over. I didn't stop; I leapt over the muscled mass and flew up the wooden stairs with speeds I would have thought unimaginable pre-War. I kept firing, heedless of my own safety. I was weak and pre-War and not meant for combat, and _I didn't care._

The Diamond City guards were picking off the mutant hounds that were rushing them; I had lost track of Detective Valentine. It wasn't until the last growls had stopped and I stood there with my shoes inch-deep in mutant blood that I remembered I was supposed to be following him. I walked back down the stairs and found him standing next to the guards. I was pale, splattered with blood, and my face was burning. I'd never done anything that nuts in my entire life. Valentine said nothing, but turned and kept walking towards the entrance. I made to follow, but the same guard from earlier stopped me.

“You ain't afraid of mutants, either?” The Diamond City guard gave me a slight nod. “You're our type of girl.”

 _Not even in the city gates and I'm already blending with the locals,_ I thought. I thanked him with a slight grin and kept following the tails of Valentine's trench coat.

 

“You keep laughing at death, one day death's going to laugh back,” the brown-haired girl in the ratty skirt said.

“Not as long as I've got a few friends to help me out,” said Nick. He smiled warmly in my direction before the brown-haired girl approached me. Her name was Ellie, and she was a sweetheart, I could tell that right away. She was also bossy; that was made pretty clear when she thrust a trenchcoat and hat into my hands with an expectant, beaming smile.

“You know, if you don't mind putting on the detective hat,” she said slyly, “Nick sure could use a new partner.”

My cheeks burned hot. “I, ma'am, I'm a lawyer, I don't...”

“Whoa whoa whoa. One case at a time, Ellie.” Nick sat down at the front desk. “Our new friend needs our help first.”

I sat down across from Nick.

“When you're trying to find someone, the devil's in the details.” Nick's voice was both professional and encouraging. “Tell me everything that happened, no matter how...painful it may be.”

 _Everything that happened._ I hadn't even allowed myself to think about everything that happened. I sat there for a second, statuesque, until the words pushed their way out.

“I was in the bathroom.”

“Thrilling beginning,” said Ellie.

“Hush.” Nick gave her a sideways look. “Go on.”

I closed my eyes. “It's October 23rd, 2077. I'm in my bathroom. My husband Nate is shaving. We've got to go to the Veteran's Hall tonight; he's giving a speech. I go to the kitchen, Codworth gets me coffee.”

“Maybe not, er... all the details.” Nick shifted in his seat. “I meant what happened to your son. And how could you be alive back then? That's the day the bombs dropped.”

“I'm getting to that,” I said impatiently, “After I got coffee, the Vault-Tec representative finalized paperwork for my family to get into Vault 111. The bombs fell, Nate grabbed Shaun. Poor Codsworth had to watch us run out. We made it to the Vault and they sent us down. I saw the bomb hit. I saw that mushroom of fire, right before they plunged us into darkness.”

My voice was steadily becoming more rapid to match the pace of my thoughts. Ellie could barely keep up taking notes.

“Then they put us into these... cryogenic pods. They froze us solid. I was in the Vault when my son was kidnapped.”

“So you were on ice,” said Nick as he leaned back in his chair, “And more importantly, you were underground. That's a lot to go through just to take one person. What else do you remember?”

“The man who took my baby, he... killed my husband.” The words stuck in my throat. “He was just trying to keep them from taking Shaun, and they... they just...”

“It's okay,” Ellie said softly, “You don't have to say anything more.”

“So were talking about a group of cold-hearted killers,” Nick said, “But they waited until something went wrong to resort to violence... That settles it. Whoever took your kid had an agenda. There's lots of groups that kidnap people in the Commonwealth. Raiders. Gunners. Supermutants. And then there's the Institute...”

I closed my eyes. “Raiders aren't that good. Gunners wear combat armor. The people I saw didn't have any. Supermutants... I'd have known if it was a supermutant under that hazmat suit. So you think this Institute is behind this?”

“Well,” Nick said warily, “They are the boogeymen of the Commonwealth. Something goes wrong, everybody blames them. Not that hard to see why; those old model synths of theirs strip whole towns for part. Worst of it is, nobody knows where they are or why they do it, not even me, and I'm a synth myself. A discarded prototype, anyway.”

“You're a... prototype?” I frowned.

“As far as I can tell.” Nick shrugged. “Never seen any other synth like myself.”

“I'll keep an eye out, just in case,” I offered.

Nick snorted. “Check the garbage then.”

“The... what?”

“Nothing. This speculation is getting us off track. What else can you tell me?”

“There was a man and a woman,” I said, “The man was had a metal brace on his arm, and the woman was wearing a white hazard suit with red trim. The man came right up to me, said something about... about me being a back up?”

“Did you see his face?”

The same face that burned itself into my nightmares swam before me.

“Bald. Scar over his left eye,” I said with disgust, “And he carried a highly modified .44 pistol.”

Nick's eyes widened. “Wait. You didn't hear the name Kellogg, did you?”

“No. They never said their names.”

“Hm... It's way too big of a coincidence.” Nick looked at Ellie. “Ellie, what notes do we have in the Kellogg file?”

“The description matches,” Ellie offered, “Bald, left scar, reputation for dangerous mercenary work.”

“And he has a house here in town, doesn't he?” Nick's voice rose slightly. “And he had a kid with him, didn't he?”

“Yes,” said Ellie, “the boy with him was about ten years old.”

I sighed. “They put me back on ice when they left. For all I know, Shaun's twenty-four by now. It could be him, it could not be.”

“Anyway, it's worth checking out.” Nick stood.

“Security doesn't really go to that part of town, but you two should still be careful,” Ellie warned.

Nick turned with a slight grin. “I always am.”

With that, he exited the Agency. I looked at Ellie.

“About the job, Ellie... I'm not sure I can—“

“Just think it over.” Ellie smiled. “No commitment, no pressure. But if you've lasted this long, you're pretty tough, and Nick seems to respect you. I think you'd make a great addition to the Agency. What was your name?”

“Elizabeth Saint.” I shook Ellie's hand.

“Ellie Perkins.”

“Perky,” I laughed.

“Saintly,” she giggled.

I politely made my exit and caught up with Nick. He was smoking a cigarette outside.

“You coming?”

“Yes, sorry.”

Nick jogged ahead, and I followed.

“I didn't want Ellie to hear this,” Nick said in a low timbre, “but everything I dug up on the Kellogg case? Bad news. He's quick, efficient, and deadly. Has no enemies because they're all dead. … Except you.”

“Oh.”

“Ten to one odds says he's our man. It's more than you just identifying his distinguishing features. The M.O is all him as well.” Nick led me up some steel stairs. “Breaking into a Vault to kidnap a baby and then leaving one of the parents for later? Not many mercs in the Commonwealth can do that.”

We approached a green steel shack much like the others in Diamond City. Nick bent over and tried the lock.

“Hell of a lock,” he growled, “Got something to hide, Kellogg?”

“Let me try,” I said.

“You a lockpick?”

“Er, I have a bobby pin?” I held one up. “And I've been practicing?”

“Go ahead.”

I did everything I could, but the lock was stubborn. I sighed and stood. “Too tight.”

“Nothing? Guess we'll need the key.” Nick leaned over and pointed at a far off building. “See that building in the distance? That's the Mayor's office. Ask around there, see if you can get ahold of the key.”

“Oh, talking my way out of problems!” I sighed with relief. “Okay, that I can definitely do.”

I returned in less than three minutes with the key dangling from my finger. Geneva was a sweet woman and had “conveniently forgotten” to put the key back in her desk.

“Got the key? Nice work.” Nick tossed away his cigarette. “Let's go. You do the honors.”

I opened the door and we entered the building. It was small and compact compared to the outside of it. I walked about, hesitant to touch anything.

“Place seem small to you? Figured a guy like Kellogg would think big,” said Nick.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” I admitted, “especially considering the size of the building from the outside.”

Something red caught my eye by the desk. A big red button was placed rather obviously under it.

“What the heck...”

I hit the button, and a wall slid open to reveal an additional room.

“That's one way to hide a room,” Nick said as he walked into it, “And look at this. All of a merc's favorite things.”

I walked in and examined the side table.

“Gwinnett Stout beer, .44 caliber bullets, and cigars... San Francisco Sunlights?” I frowned. “Jeez, my father used to smoke these, are they still even around?”

Nick chuckled. “Interesting brand, but it won't lead us anywhere on its own.”

“No, it won't,” I sighed. “You don't have some kind of Institute-installed detection frequency that can pinpoint cigars, can you?”

“No,” he said dryly, “I must've missed that class.”

“This isn't the end of the line,” I insisted, “There's got to be something else we can do.”

Nick lit a cigarette, and the red light illuminated his face.

“Frequency, hmm,” he mumbled through the cigarette, “That gives me an idea. I know someone who can help us out. We've worked together on cases before. He's... particular, but I think you and him will get on fine. If anyone can find our man, it's him.”

“Wonderful!”

“Just let me send out a frequency. You won't be able to hear it, but he will.”

It didn't take more than ten minutes for something to start scratching at the door. Nick walked over, opened the door, and then got tackled by an enormous German Shepherd.

“Dogmeat?” I said with surprise.

“Agh!” Nick fell under the weight of the dog, who kept licking him. “Dogmeat, down! Down, boy!”

I put my hand over my heart and smiled. “Aw, he loves you so much.”

Nick growled and rolled out from under Dogmeat's playful welcome. He stood up and dusted off the front of his trench coat, then looked at me with surprise.

“You know Dogmeat?”

Dogmeat finally saw me, jumped up, and licked my cheek. I laughed and ruffled his neck fur.

“Sure do.” I sat down and cuddled Dogmeat. “He helped me find the Minutemen... er, the Minuteman. There's only one now. But you're right. Dogmeat's perfect. He could track anyone anywhere.”

“Before you go any further with that, er, I know this is, personal business...” Nick tilted his fedora down slightly and didn't quite meet my eye. “If you need to face Kellogg on your own, just say so.”

I blinked. He was leaving me with Dogmeat?

“Any words of wisdom, Detective?”

“I don't know about wisdom, but if Kellogg really did kidnap your son, he's dangerous.” Nick tilted his chin up slightly and boldly met my eyes. “But so are you. You don't need to be afraid of him, or anything else that the Commonwealth throws at you.”

My cheeks warmed slightly. Dogmeat dropped his head and snorted. I looked back at Nick.

“I want you with me on this, Detective.”

Nick lit up with a huge grin. “Alright. Let's go get that bastard. This is your show from here on out, okay? You say jump, I'll say how high.”

I smiled and nodded. Nick squared his shoulders and looked at Dogmeat. “What about it, Dogmeat? Think you can find our man?”

Dogmeat raced in a circle and barked happily.

“That's a yes,” Nick chuckled.

I bent down and let Dogmeat sniff the cigars.

“Got the scent, boy?” I said softly, “Take me to him, Dogmeat. Take me to Shaun.”

 

If anyone thought in Diamond City thought it was odd that their metal detective was running around with a dirty-looking Vault dweller and a German Shepard, they didn't say anything. We followed Dogmeat out of Diamond City and into the streets. Dogmeat slowed to a trot, and we kept pace.

“So.” I spoke purely to break the silence. “You're a detective made of metal.”

“Roughly speaking,” he said warily.

“So... you're a metal detector.”

“What?”

“You're a detective. You detect. Therefore you are a detector. You are made of metal. Therefore you are a metal detector.”

Nick stopped and gave me a scathing look. “Does that fat mouth of yours ever close?”

“Only when it's been frozen like that for two hundred years,” I said in a falsely cheerful tone.

After a few minutes of painful silence, I said, “I'm sorry Nick, I didn't mean that to be offensive. I wasn't thinking. That was unkind of me to say, especially after all the help you've given me.”

He stopped walking and fixed me with that gilded light in his eyes. Then he smiled.

“Nothin' to apologize about, Saint. Sorry I poked fun at you for being a popsicle,” he said.

“It's not your fault. I was a jerk first, and I got my just desserts.” I grinned. “My frozen desserts.”

He chuckled, and we cut through a neighborhood that was shrouded in darkness, then down some concrete stairway. It was so dark that I lit up my Pip-Boy just to be able to see the stairs.

“You called me Nick.”

I turned around, confused. He was staring down at me, his yellow eyes piercing me from the stairway below.

“Well, yeah. That's your name, isn't it?”

“I guess I just didn't expect you to say it.” He walked up the stairs towards me. “You always call me Valentine or Detective.”

“You want me to keep calling you Valentine or Nick?” I impatiently climbed the stairs away from him.

“Jeez, no need to get touchy. I just noticed, is all.”

I was about to argue that I was not being touchy when a bullet ricocheted above his head. We immediately crouched, and the yells of Raiders echoes overhead.

“Where'd you go...” Nick mumbled as he traced the fence line with his eyes.

I chucked a Molotov over the fence line. I heard it shatter, accompanied by some screams, and then there was silence.

“Ta-da.”

“You did good.”

“Thanks, Nick.” I paused. “If you don't want me to call you that...”

“Eliza, I don't mind it a bit.”

“... Thanks, Nick.”

Dogmeat barked.

“Looks like he's found something,” Nick said.

Indeed he had. Raider corpses and San Francisco Sunlights. Dogmeat took a good sniff and raced off like a furry bullet.

“I'm telling ya,” Nick said proudly, “that nose is second to none.”

We ran up the stairs and followed Dogmeat along a forested road. If I turned around, I could see the lights of Diamond City glowing in the night sky, and the buildings' black silhouettes in front of it. This, in a sky of a sea of stars. _Wow... I wish you could have seen this, Nate._

Then, in a loud and commanding tone that reminded me painfully of Nate, I heard Valentine shout, “Yao guai! Move!”

“Yao guai, what's a yao--”

All I saw was the hulking mass of muscle covered with skin and patches of fur before its huge teeth sank into my leg. I yelled, more in shock than pain, as the beast's teeth couldn't quite get past the metal. The grip was still bad though, and I unloaded bullet after bullet into whatever part of it I could hit until it slumped over.

I fell backwards, my rear hitting the dirt hard as I panted. _So. That's what a yao guai is._

Valentine came and stood next to me as he loaded more fusion cells into his pistol. “You did good,” he said. He said it like it was a reluctant confirmation, a kind of gruff compliment. I looked up at him in his fedora and was painfully reminded of my Nate. Nate was outwardly clumsy and awkward, but inwardly very strong and kind. He was never one to spoil me, but I always knew he loved me. It was in little gestures, like wildflowers picked on a dry summer's day, or a cold Nuka-Cola given after a hard day's work. I could almost feel the bubbly liquid sooth my dry, dusty throat, which was stinging slightly. I realized with a jolt that I was on the verge of tears. Valentine hadn't noticed, so I quickly stood up and followed Dogmeat. I had to stay focused. Nate would have crossed worse than a mutant bear if I needed help; I could cross the Commonwealth for Shaun. I had to. I promised.

“Are you alright?” Nick frowned.

“I'm fine. Let's keep moving.”

Later on, it was ghouls. I hated fighting ferals more than anything, but in tight corners like we were in, I had no choice but to pull out Bruise-maker and start bashing their heads in. We found a group of decimated robots a few more feet away... more of Kellogg's victims. Nick looked around at the slaughter with a grimace. It looked a right mess to me; I could only imagine what it looked like to Nick. It was a long way to walk, but we finally arrived in front of a massive building that I recognized. Dogmeat barked and scratched at the boarded-up front door.

“You're...this is a joke,” I said under my breath.

“I knew Dogmeat would sniff our man out,” Nick said confidently as he came up behind me. “Let's you and I take it from here; give our four-legged friend a break.”

Dogmeat was panting, and readily laid down to rest. I rubbed his ears while glaring at the building.

“He's in there, all right,” Nick growled.

“This is... It's like somebody's bad idea of a joke,” I snapped.

Nick's eyebrows knit together slightly. “Something wrong?”

“My husband worked here. He worked for General Martine. I used to drop him off here every day for work on my way down to Natick. Our parking spot was always right over there,” I said with a disheartened point. “Parking was heck here.”

There was a moment in which all I could hear was the wind rustling the dead leaves. I stood, unholstered 111, and started walking.

“Let's go.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe how fast something can be written when you're not turning it in for a grade. Also, sorry about the extremely slow build up, but I believe that you have to establish how people can be friends before establishing how they'd fall in love.
> 
> Also, I should tell you that I'm probably going to post all of these as separate works in the series because chapters feel more like small chunks. A work is a particular section of the journey; chapters are like days of it; the whole series is the timeline. Just thought I should let you know.


End file.
